Name: Darshana & Marcus Ubl

Age: Young at heart shall we say,  we don’t do age! 

Where do you normally live: London

What you do for a living: Business owners  - ververally.com and mayfairsilk.com

Where you relocated to: Antigua & Barbuda

When you relocated: End of 2020

Why you decided to relocate: Found the weather in London demotivating especially during lockdown and we were in need desperate need of some vitamin D and vitamin Sea :)

How long do you plan on staying: Till March 2021 - but will be back soon for a longer term

What have you liked the best so far about relocating: Relocating to an island like Antigua has its perks:

- the time zone is ideal for businesses based in the UK and US. Many days we would start work at 5am and by 2pm we’ll be done with work with the rest of the day ahead of us to enjoy.

- Sunsets are magical everyday - and if you are lucky, you might spot a green light as the sun sets.

- Antigua has so much to offer. We got in the groove of drinking fresh coconut water, going for walks on the beach and playing tennis everyday. 

- Weekends were fun - hung out with our new island friends - many of whom I met through work-mango.com 

I must add - having had the support of WorkMango meant I knew that I was well taken care of. All my questions before the trip were answered promptly and even during the trip the assistance has been great. From accommodation, to car hire, to morning treks to excursions to Barbuda - WorkMango delivered more than what was on the tin. We made some lovely new connections and memories that will last a life-time. 

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Name: Jeannette Lee 

Age: Old :) 

Where you normally live: I usually live in London, U.K.

What you do for a living:

I am Co owner of a U.K. Record Company and Artist Manager - roughtrade.com

Where you relocated to:

I relocated to English Harbour, Antigua, WI 

When you relocated:

I relocated Jan 2021

Why you decided to relocate: 

The U.K can be a depressing place to be at the beginning of the year, I decided to try another climate-however, I hadn’t anticipated quite how easy it would be for me to work with the U.K. online from Antigua. I discovered that if I started work at 6:00am and finished at 2pm it gave me a full day’s work with the U.K. office, the U.S offices easier still, and I had the rest of the afternoon to do other things.

Perfect!

How long do you plan on staying: 

I plan to spend 3 months per year working from Antigua & Barbuda

What have you liked the best so far about relocating:

So many things: 

WorkMango!

Working in a stress free environment 

In a soothing climate, with easy going people and good food is an enticing prospect and hard not to repeat once you have tried it.

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Name: Anna Suzuki

Age: 35

Where you Normally Live: New York

What you do for a living: Finance Director

Where you relocated to: Antigua

When you relocated: February 2021

Why you decided to relocate: A change in lifestyle and pace of life - fresh air, sunshine and access to 365 beaches on the island. The uncertainty surrounding covid in the US was detrimental to my mental health and work life balance. 

How long do you plan on staying: 6 months

What have you liked the best so far about relocating:

Waking up to a serene environment, surrounded by beautiful nature. My company works both in the US and UK, so I spent most of my time working London hours which meant I was waking up much earlier, being more productive and being able to make the most of the day. I love that I'm able to take a lunchtime dip in the ocean and see the beautiful sunrise and sunset each day. I'm much happier and love the fact that WorkMango facilitated everything - so I just had to turn up. I also met a lot of people through the weekly hikes which has been one of my highlights as I like staying active. I am originally Australian - so being outdoors is very important for me which I have not been able to do as much since moving to London and then on to New York.

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Name: Manish Makwana (Mak)

Age: 40

Company: Director & CEO - Formula Media

Date of relocation: January 2021

Length of Stay: 3 months

Reason for relocation: UK lockdown, making up for no holidays in 2020 and opportunity to work together with the team. Brought a team of 5 to come and work together. It was a great bonding and work session

Villa Option / location on island – description of accommodation: 5 bedroom villa opposite the beach in Willoughby Bay

Any other chosen amenities (gym / country clubs): Access to gyms, tennis courts and daily runs

Experience with Membership and dedicated Work Mango Account Manager: Superb. Great concierge and requirements met to include questions answered on everything from where is the best beach restaurant to where to dispose the trash.

Describe work / life balance?: Imagine combining your typical Monday workday and Sunday chill day into one day, everyday.

Describe a typical day in Antigua?: Nice long days creating the perfect work life balance with early starts and early ends to each day. Starts with a morning jog/run/yoga/meditation. 3 hours of work, a break and a further 3-4 hours of work. Followed by a late lunch (typically on a beach, with exploration of a new beach amongst the 365 beaches every day), then a lie down in the sun and swim on the beach. Early dinner then bed.

Have you seen any ‘wellbeing’ benefits to your mental health since arriving: A lot more relaxed, less anxiety, less grey, less COVID are the forefront of the mind (with very little media reminders) and a general sense of calm and opportunity to reset.

How have you benefited from the Work Mango network? Met a few influencers and like minded individuals seeking the same work/life experience. Even met the founder of Monzo the bank - definitely an interesting time and my entire team loved it. A few of them extended thier stays to take advantage of all on offer. I would recommend it a million times over and we are considering making this our annual company retreat.

 

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Name:

Liz Squire,

Age: 31

Travelling solo but with guests every couple of weeks

Where do you normally live?: Washington DC

Relocated to: Antigua 

Type of Accommodation: Beach Front 2bed 2 bath

Budget: My general budget is $4,500/month which includes my rent and car rental. 

 Tell us a bit about your WorkMango Experience:

I work in PR/strategic communications/ crisis management for a boutique firm based in Washington, DC.

I  worked remotely in Antigua for 3 months.

This experience helped me to slow down, breathe, and live in the moment. Looking at the ocean, mountains, or a beautiful sunset helps to put things in perspective and even though I won’t be able to stop at the ocean on my lunch break in DC, I hope to take this new perspective back with me.

I’ve never lived in another country for an extended period of time or lived in another country solo, so that has been the most rewarding part for me. I wanted to prove to myself that I could make a big change like this on my own. 

I feel very lucky to say that there haven’t been too many challenges. I relocated to Antigua through the help of a company called WorkMango. If I have a question, need a recommendation or a service, I can reach out to WorkMango. The WorkMango program was attractive to me because it provides the opportunity to connect with locals and people who have also relocated to Antigua temporarily. I’ve made a close friend here through WorkMango. Learning to drive on the other side of the road was my biggest concern, but now I’ve become used to it! 

I would recommend that someone relocating to another country look into a service like WorkMango. I had been doing research on my own and I was looking at a few different islands in the Caribbean, but I found the number of options overwhelming. Because I relocated solo and because I’m working remotely for three months, I had very specific needs like security and strong WiFi. I felt confident in relocating because WorkMango was able to address these specific requests for me before I arrived. 

I’ve found it really easy to meet new people and strike up conversation here in Antigua – so if you are worried about relocating solo I would say don’t be! Everyone I’ve met here has been more than happy to provide a recommendation, chat, and answer questions. 

My biggest rookie mistake was not packing enough swimsuits! 

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Name: Sheila Eilts 

Age: Lets just say over 65

Company: Freelancer retiree

Date of relocation: January 2021

Length of Stay: 4 months

How have you found your experience: WorkMango! What a find?! I was facing another damp, cold winter in England. And a little trepidatious about travelling on my own/ solo. 

Planned to stay one week and ended up enjoying over 3 months.  Going home soon to better weather feeling healthy and strong. Will be catching up with new friends.

I was able to enjoy everything I do at home, Audio books, Zoom Exercise Netflix etc.  And now fabulous nature walks/hikes, swimming.  All with the backdrop of amazing Sunsets and Rises - Paradise.  

With great support from Ronald and WorkMango.  Very quickly was introduced to like minded travellers.  

Even found a Scrabble companion.

Already signed up for 2022.

If you want to contact me directly for a more personal recommendation please do get in touch

Love Sheila x